Early Riser
by MythGirl Writes
Summary: Maki really wasn't sure Shuichi and Kaito's early-morning workouts were her thing, but it wouldn't hurt to try. From the Danganronpa Secret Santa on tumblr


**The second to last of the gift exchange fics!**

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"Wake me up before seven-thirty again and you're dead," Maki grumbled, walking with Kaito and Shuichi with her arms crossed. Obviously she wasn't happy with getting up so early.

"You were the one who said you wanted in on training. You brought this on yourself, Maki Roll," Kaito said, keeping his voice down. "This is when we do it. Now lower your voice, or we'll get caught!"

Because of course six in the morning was the appropriate time to work out. Or train, whatever he wanted to call it. One glance at Shuichi told her that they were both absolutely serious about this. And, looking at him more closely, this could explain why he always had bags under his eyes.

"Mr. Sakakura doesn't take over until seven, and he's the most strict of the security, but not getting caught saves us from detention," Shuichi said. "Kaito and I have this down to a science from trial-and-error."

She looked down the path they were taking. She already knew where the security would be and when. "I could've helped you before. I'm used to not being detected."

The two of them blinked. Kaito was obviously holding back a laugh. "Geez, now I wish you'd joined us before. You would've saved us so much time spent in detention!"

Alright, she couldn't help but smirk at that, not that she was going to let them see. She followed them through some of the bushes lining the building, ones that didn't have any purpose other than what they were using them for, she supposed.

To be honest, she wasn't entirely comfortable yet. Her muscles tensed like she was on a job, sending her mind into a flurry. She was only yanked out when Kaito and Shuichi bolted out of the bushes, forcing her to refocus and follow them. She never really thought about it, but she could probably outpace them easily.

"Here's the spot!" Kaito declared after a minute, slowing down in a small patch of grass, not quite dewey. If she was going to continue this, she might want to bring a towel to wipe the mud off of her. "Okay, first up is one hundred pushups!"

Without stretching first? Whatever. She dropped down and started, counting to herself. She hadn't broken a sweat by the time she finished. Shuichi, on the other hand, had, and was only on twenty. Slow, but at least he had good form. And Kaito… "Are you going to do your own workout or did you just drag us out here to watch us work out?"

"He usually...starts a couple...minutes in," Shuichi said in between pushups.

"Yeah, but right now I'm just impressed that you did yours so fast." Kaito leaned forward, his legs in a butterfly position. "How'd you get so fast?"

She shrugged. "I did plenty of speed runs before." She tapped the ground in front of him. "Just be glad I'm not making you do your pushups in under two minutes. That was just for starters."

He grumbled about it for a second, but complied anyway. And, as she soon found out, was not good at doing pushups, not at all like Shuichi. "Yeah, no. Stop." He dropped to his knees, looking up at her and breathing heavily. "Those weren't pushups." She planted her fist on the ground. "Keep your body straight, and lower yourself until your chin hits my fist."

"Aw, nobody can do that!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, moving her fist to under Shuichi, who hit it easily. Well, not easily, but more easily than Kaito was making it out to be.

He swallowed hard. "Fine, Shuichi can hit it, but only because he's improved so much." He sent Shuichi a thumbs-up and a big smile. Maki was not impressed.

"Look, you obviously don't want to do this, so give me fifty with good form and we'll call it even." If there was one thing she knew how to do from growing up with a bunch of kids, it was how to negotiate with one.

He finished them a minute or so after Shuichi finished his hundred. "I don't see why I needed to do them," Kaito grumbled, getting up from his position and sitting. "I made these workouts for the both of you."

"No offense, Kaito, but I don't think it can count as a workout if it's only the one thing," Shuichi remarked, leaning back on his hands. "Besides, it's good to stay in shape anyway. It clears your head."

"And if we're going to be doing this, then I need to see you participate as well, got it?" Maki added, her legs folded under her.

Her words made Kaito break into a grin. "So you're going to keep coming?"

She tried waving it off. "It's like Shuichi said, I need to stay in shape and clear my mind. This is one of the quietest ways to do it." She rubbed at her arm. "The gym is usually too loud."

Which, of course, made Kaito stop being quiet. "Heck yeah! We're gonna have a great time!"

She shoved him lightly, barely making him move. That, of course, was on purpose. "Don't make me regret my decision."

Shuichi laughed, the kind of quiet Maki was talking about before. At least he had volume control. "Welcome to the team."

They were a team now, huh? She straightened her posture, looking to the sky. Being part of a team like this couldn't hurt. She liked them both well enough. "The sun's rising," she remarked, though it was quite obvious at that point. After all, she could now see the more minute details of their faces without much difficulty. It had been a long time since she saw a sunrise like this one.

"We should be heading back to the dorms, then," Kaito said, getting up and offering her and Shuichi a hand. They both took one, helping themselves up. "What do you say we do this again tomorrow morning?"

"I'm good with that." Shuichi and Kaito both looked to Maki, waiting for her decision.

Well...it wasn't too awful this time around, and she supposed that they needed someone assertive to make sure that Kaito actually did his own workout. Besides, what better way to keep in shape? "I guess. Same time?"

Kaito threw an arm around her shoulders as well as Shuichi's. She barely contained the reflex to get herself free from his grip. That wouldn't have ended well for him. "Exactly! We're gonna be the strongest team in all of Hope's Peak!"

"Don't let Sakura or Nekomaru hear that," Shuichi laughed. "They take that as a challenge."

"I don't know, I think we could take them," Maki said, a deadpan look on her face. This was… Okay, this was more fun than she originally thought. She didn't regret this.


End file.
